July 28, 2014

Eeny, meeny, miny, moe ...

Sometimes it's beyond hard to decide which book to read next. Not as though I wouldn't have any good choices available for the next weekend read-a-thon. The whole process of picking up a book to read reminds me of going grocery shopping where you have miles of shelves with stuff and you keep on running back and forth, because you just can't make up your mind. Not saying that I have miles of shelves filled with unread tomes, but close enough. Needless to say, I've been known to spend the better half of an afternoon going through my book piles with no decision-making whatsoever. It's frustrating, that's what it is. If this were a relationship I'd have to wonder: Is it them? Is it me? In all honesty, it's probably them. I have this theory that the one book that 's meant to be read right there and then, is lurking in some dusty corner and running for cover (pun fully intended) when I start digging through my book piles. Anyway. Randomness to the rescue. I devised a plan on how to pick the next book to read and depending on what day of the week it is I will settle for ...

Seeing how I've got book stacks strewn all over the place, I'm going to pick the first book that goes on a collision course with my foot after getting up in the morning.

Tuesday aka Science-day

Time to implement some math into the process and utilize random.org to pick a book from my alphabetically sorted TBR list on LibraryThing.

Wednesday aka Match-day

Playing match-maker I will search for the one book with a cover design that best matches the color of the shirt I'm wearing.

Thursday aka Burrow-day

This day shall be dedicated to archaeological excavations which basically means, I will choose the book that has been in its holding pattern the longest.

Friday aka Friend-day

Today someone else will do the deciding for me, so I'll ask a friend to browse through my list of unread books and pick one out for me.

Saturday aka Scale-day

I will take a random stack of books with me to the bathroom and weigh myself with each of them. The result I like best will translate into some "light" reading choices.

Sunday aka Guilt-day

Feeling a wee bit guilty in light of the fact that I've got enough unread books to last me a year or two, I will "destroy the evidence" and stick my nose into the book which I bought on a whim the previous day.

What are your preferred methods to choose which book to read next? Ever tried doing it as randomly as I suggest in this post? Please share.

2 comments:

I love this post! I have the hardest time choosing the next book to read. Sometimes I choose the one that has a scheduled review date (and sometimes I don't and I feel guilty). Sometimes it's the cover, other times it is the one that strikes my mood. I really think that you need to be in a particular mood to read a particular book. What I find then, is that books which sounded good, suddenly don't appeal once I'm looking for one to read. Currently, I am trying to work through a TBR stack that has been languishing in a corner and if I measured it, would probably be over 4 1/2 feet high...

I've tried some of the methods you've listed. I'm definitely a 'mood' reader - it has to be the right book at the right time, which is often difficult! Which is why I often go for your Sunday option. I've tried standing in front of a bookcase, closing my eyes and reaching for a book - it often works, a bit like your Monday option. As I've got a pile of books by my bed I could try that too - thanks for these suggestions. :)

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